Young chess players achieve success in Europe [PHOTO]

By Azernews

By Abdul Kerimkhanov

Azerbaijani chess players have successfully performed and won medals at the European Youth Chess Championship 2019 in Bratislava, Slovakia.

A meeting was held at Azerbaijan Ministry of Youth and Sports with the chess players as well as their coaches and parents.

Minister of Youth and Sports Azad Rahimov, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports Ismayil Ismayilov, Vice-Presidents of Azerbaijan Chess Federation Faig Hasanov, Mahir Mammadov and others participated in the meeting.

Rahimov congratulated the young chess players on the successes achieved and especially emphasized their role in the further development of chess in Azerbaijan.

Having spoken about the traditions of Azerbaijani chess, the 42nd World Chess Olympiad, the World Cup, super tournaments and international chess festivals organized in Azerbaijan, he said that Azerbaijan pays great attention and cares for the development of all sports in the country, including chess.

In turn, Mammadov, on behalf of the chess players, expressed gratitude to the head of state and the Ministry of Youth and Sports for their attention and care.

Then, Rahimov presented honorary diplomas of the ministry and cash prizes to the young chess players who won medals at the European Youth Chess Championship.

At the Championship, Azerbaijani chess players won two gold, one silver and two bronze medals.

In the competition among girls under the age of 14 and up to 8 years old, Ayan Allahverdiyeva and Dinara Huseynova (both from Baku), respectively, became European champions.

Saadat Bashirli from Ganja won a silver medal in the competition among girls under 8 years old.

Another Azerbaijani representative Yusif Karimli (Shaki) won the bronze medal in the competition of chess players under the age of 8, while Jahandar Azadaliev (Baku) won the bronze medal in the competition under the age of 10.

With this result, the Azerbaijani team ranked second in the team standings after Russia.

For centuries, chess has been a popular game in Azerbaijan. The country could preserve chess traditions as the chess remains to be a very popular sport in Azerbaijan today.   

The active development of chess in Azerbaijan began in the 1950s. Azerbaijan Chess Federation was founded in 1920. The national chess players constantly achieve successes in top-ranked tournaments.